State Rep. Larry Aherns bill tying the span of yellow lights at intersections to the speed limit was racing toward the finish line at the end of the legislative session, then it blew a tire. Now he wants to get off to a fast start next year.
Ahern, a St. Petersburg Republican, pushed HB 149 through his chamber, getting a unanimous vote on May 2 in the House, but the bill was never taken up by the Senate.
It just got caught up there at the end, Ahern said.
Not to be deterred, Ahern filed the bill again Wednesday, six months ahead of the 2012 legislative session, which begins in January rather than March next year because of the added reapportionment and redistricting work facing lawmakers. He explained that the bills generous support this year (it received only three negative votes in committee, in addition to the unanimous floor vote) spurred him to resubmit the bill early.
We had a lot of support for it and I felt it was something that we could get done, Ahern said.
The new version of the bill is an exact repeat of this years earlier attempt. It calls on all stop light intersections to connect the timing of the yellow light to 10 percent of the posted speed limit at the intersection, rounding up to the nearest whole second. For example, a yellow light in an intersection with a 45 mile per hour speed limit should last five seconds. The maximum span of a yellow light would be six seconds.
For intersections with speed limits of 55 mph or more, a sign would be posted alerting motorists of the extended yellow light times.
A House study of the final version of the bill estimates that the bill is expected to cost the state nearly $813,000. The cost of adjusting the timing of the yellow lights of the 7,714 the Florida Department of Transportation is responsible for is thought to run $462,830. Posting the necessary signs would cost $350,000.
The bill isnt the only change that could be in the works for Floridas intersections. A year after the Republican-controlled Legislature passed a law to implement red light cameras, a bill repealing most of the new law passed through the House on a narrow 59-57 vote, but never made it to the Senate.
Local governments would also be impacted, because under Aherns bill, tickets issued to motorists caught by red light cameras at intersections not in compliance with the new yellow light times would be voided. The 5,000 stop light intersections that local governments would need to adjust would cost them about $300,000.
In the debate over the red light camera repeal, lawmakers cited conflicting studies showing the new cameras had led to reductions in traffic accidents as well as reports that they made no difference at all in the amount of incidents.
Ahern voted in favor of the red light camera repeal, and said his bill is intended to give the benefit of the doubt to motorists who get caught in no mans land at an intersection -- those who want to stop but get caught rushing through a red light over fears of the speeding traffic behind them. Hes also heard numerous complaints from motorists who turned right at a red light and were automatically issued a ticket.
Although he expects another red light camera repeal bill to be filed this year, Ahern said his legislation standardizing the timing of yellow lights in the state is good policy regardless of the fate of that bill.
Really, it doesnt matter because it should still be a standard in the state, Ahern said.
Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
